Murphy Announces Rutgers Framework Agreement

Governor Phil Murphy today announced a framework agreement reached between Rutgers University and labor union representatives who have been meeting in the State House since Monday to negotiate employee contracts. The Governor brought these parties together in his office this week to engage in productive dialogue and come to a resolution regarding matters such as compensation, benefits, and job security for both full- and part-time faculty members.

With this announcement, the faculty strike that has halted or otherwise affected classes on three of the university’s campuses this week will come to an end and classes will once again resume for all Rutgers students on Monday, April 17, Murphy said.

“After five days of intensive dialogue and negotiations in my office, I am pleased to share that the Rutgers University and union bargaining committees have come to an agreement,” said Murphy. “This fair and amicable conclusion respects the interests of many different stakeholders, upholds New Jersey’s values, and puts an end to a standoff that was disruptive to our educators and students alike. I thank our mediators and representatives from all sides for their hard work and I look forward to the tens of thousands of students across the New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden campuses resuming their world-class educations on Monday.”

“The framework that was reached today between Rutgers and its faculty unions provides fair and equitable wages, benefits, and work conditions for our faculty as well as our graduate students and part-time lecturers.  Reaching consensus today comes as a result of the active and engaged leadership of Governor Murphy, to whom we all are deeply indebted,” said Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway. “Most important, closure on this framework will allow the 67,000 students at Rutgers to resume their studies and pursue their academic degrees. Nothing we do is as important as living up to the expectations that our students have of us to be fully supportive of them and nurturing of their academic ambitions and dreams.”

“This framework sets a new standard. Our members have struck to transform higher education in the State of New Jersey and across this country,” said President of Rutgers AAUP-AFT Becky Givan. “The framework we have agreed to today sets in place unprecedented gains for contingent workers, graduate students, and our communities. We look forward to working together with the university to realize President Holloway’s vision of a beloved community. We would not have gotten here without our members’ commitment and the support of our Governor.”

“We are extremely pleased that we reached what we believe is the basis for a transformative contract for part-time faculty at Rutgers,” said Amy Higher, President, Adjunct Faculty Union (PTLFC). “We deeply appreciate the Governor and his staff’s efforts to help us win gains for which we have been fighting for a long time: multi-semester appointments for hundreds of us, and significantly higher pay for all of us. We still have work to do to come to a full tentative agreement, and we will resume doing so next week. Most of all, we are eager to get back to teaching our students and helping them finish up spring semester.”

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